Fade Away
by Annie Sparklecakes
Summary: You can't be a bad guy if you're in love with one of the good girls. Gin is a bad guy. But he wasn't always one.


One of those spur-of-the-moment midnight (or two a.m., same difference) fics that everyone loves to write. I'm actually quite happy with this one, despite the lack of any real plot or originality because _hey, _I'm learning to write deep. See if you can find all the connections between pieces here. It's like a game. (I need sleep.) And, obviously, this is in reverse chronological order.

First _Bleach _fic, so reviews – and concrit – are always appreciated!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing someone else does.

* * *

**Fade Away**

_v.  
_Seeing Rangiku is like being stabbed in the gut. Repeatedly.

She's exhausted and shaking and can barely stand. Her hair is sweat-soaked and dirty, and her robes are dirty and blood-stained.

Gin cuts her down without a second thought.

Aizen looks at him when they reunite, one eyebrow quirked like he's asking a question. Maybe wondering if Gin really did what he was supposed to do.

Gin just smiles, thinks of Rangiku's soft skin beneath his fingers.

It hurts to be in love with her.

-x-

_iv.  
_Aizen is evil. Gin is not.

He tries to be, of course, and he's almost got it down. He can spill blood without remorse, he smiles at pain and always means it, and he loves it when he can make people scream.

Except Rangiku.

The one time he's forced against her, Gin discovers that he can't hurt her. She has her fingers around his wrist, and her blade against his throat, and Gin has the power to break her and get away, but he _doesn't_ have the power to break her and get away.

Gin will not turn his back on Aizen, not even for her.

But as her touch slips away and leaves him cold, he wishes, more than anything, that he could find a way to take her with him.

-x-

_iii.  
_Hitsugaya is a stupid little brat, and Gin doesn't like him.

He sees Rangiku sometimes, walking along behind her captain. She holds her head up high, spine stiff and straight, and there is a spark in her serious eyes that Gin hasn't seen before.

If she sees him, Rangiku will turn silly and playful and how he likes her best, smiling and waving at him. Gin tries not to let her see him.

One day, Rangiku steps up beside her captain, swinging her arms. "You shouldn't scowl so much, taichou," she admonishes, bumping him with her hip. "You'll get wrinkles, and then who will want to date you?"

"Shut _up_, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya says through gritted teeth, and Rangiku smiles, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

"You're so cute, taichou," she croons. "_I'll _take you on a date!"

Hitsugaya turns beet red. "_Or, _you could do your paperwork tonight instead. _For once_."

"You're no fun, taichou…"

Hitsugaya raises his eyes to the heavens. "How did you ever make it to vice-captain…" he mutters as they pass Gin. He steps out from his hiding spot in the shadows and stares after them.

Gin never frowns. No girl wants to date him.

-x-

_ii.  
_"Captain Gin," says a bright voice from behind him. "Morning, _Captain Gin!"_

Gin turns, smile fixed in place. Rangiku stands before him, one hand propped on her hip, smiling cheekily. "How are you, Captain Gin?"

As is becoming more and more common lately, Gin can't quite help his gaze from dropping to somewhere below her face, before he hurriedly snaps it back up. Rangiku, who can sniff out an admirer with her eyes closed, doesn't notice.

"Great, Rangiku," he says, leaning back against the wall. "And you?"

"_Fantastic_, Captain. It's so nice to see your smiling face in the morning, _Captain_."

He doesn't really get why it amuses her so much to use his title over and over like that. It's one of those Rangiku things, he decides, and leaves it at that. He's never fully understood her. They're too… different.

Rangiku wears her uniform too low, and Gin sometimes sees other men looking at her. It bothers him, but the one time he pointed out how unprofessional it was to her, Rangiku laughed and told him he was being very chivalrous, trying to protect her honor, and that was all. Gin hasn't mentioned it again.

If she were in his squad, Gin would make her wear _three _uniforms, he thinks absently. Then again, if he were around her so much, he might become desensitized to it – to _her_.

Maybe it's better that Rangiku isn't in his squad.

Every time he sees her, it's a shock to the system, because even Gin knows how beautiful Rangiku is.

He never wants to stop feeling this way.

-x-

_i.  
_Rangiku falls asleep with her little head on his little shoulder while they're sitting on the porch outside, counting stars.

Gin twists a strand of her hair around his fingers thoughtfully, and stares up at the sky.

A shooting star whizzes by – the one they've been waiting for all night – and so many things fly through Gin's mind at once. So many things to wish for, so many to want. Money, power, food—

Rangiku shifts slightly beside him, turning her nose further into his neck, away from the wind. Her breath is warm against his skin, and her hair is surprisingly soft in his hand.

He lifts the strands to his lips, and in a gesture too romantic for a little boy, kisses it and wishes for the strength to protect her.


End file.
